Did You Know?

Designing photovoltaic concentrators is a balancing act. The optic must concentrate a lot of light, the intensity must be uniform, and the design should have few elements. Pablo Benítez and others from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain) and LPI (Altadena, Calif., U.S.A.) recently reported a concentrator design comprised of a Fresnel lens and a refractive secondary element that fulfills many of these requirements. Their primary element is a multisectioned Fresnel lens (top), and the secondary element (bottom) is molded glass that includes a ring designed as a holder.